Ian Payne CBR929RR (leader) Rhys Williams ZX9R
Rob Langer R1150GS Mal Chandler CBR600
Mario Ibeas R1 Liz Oliver CBR919RR
Aaron Karmiste Blackbird Ken Wright & Louise RSV1000
Andrew Martin FZ1 (1st) Wayne & Joanne Nimmo Hayabusa
Pete Weyermayr CBR929RR Scott Young Hornet 600 (1st)
Rob
Jones CBR954RR Nick McNair GSXR750 (1st)
Phil Richards TRX850 (rear
rider) Ben Warden CBR929RR
Kate Stewart Car 16
bikes, 18 people
No need to get out of bed early for this ride, as our bikes had got the once over the night before. So it was a gentle cruise down the freeway to the meeting point at the Ampol servo in Hallam with Ben catching us up on the way. I think that he would have trouble sneaking up on anyone with his bumblebee bike.
A large group was already waiting at Hallam when we rolled in. It was just after 10 am and already it was starting to be uncomfortably hot for me. Ian gave a quick run down of the ride and explained the corner marking system for the first timers. As this was Phil’s first club ride since his broken collar bone he volunteered for rear riding duties. Kate came to see us off in her car as she is “between bikes”. Having sold her 250, she is currently sitting out her time for her full licence so she can get a 600.
Leaving Hallam, we travelled towards Narre Warren North, over to Upper Beaconsfield, down to Pakenham and Pakenham South. From there we went further south to Bayles and Yannathan until finally Lang Lang arrived for smoko and some much needed fluids for my overheating body. We hadn’t even travelled that far and were on relaxing roads, behaving ourselves and here I was, already quite exhausted…..pathetic!
Time to go is the call.
The Gippsland area confuses the hell out of me. I never seem to recognize any of the roads I’m travelling on, so I got a huge surprise when we rode into Poowong and deja-vu struck. I’d been here before. Fantastic! Nothing could be better, with my refreshments kicking in at about this same time. Wahoo! This is an awesome road coming up which offers everything: fast corners, slow corners, grip, easy to spot bumps, hills and, of course, beautiful scenery. It is these kind of roads that make motorcycling so enjoyable for me.
So the route was Nyora – Poowong – Loch and on to Wonthaggi for lunch. Gobbling down a quick lunch in the heat and fighting off the flies was quite a challenge. Rob Jones and Scott Young left us here for something stronger than water (and hopefully to buy some gloves!) while the rest of us were at the mine for our tour by 1 pm. The size of our group created problems, at first. But they managed to squeeze us all in. While we were waiting for our turn, we watched a history video of the mine and the town. Quite interesting – without the mine there would be no town.
After the video we donned safety hats and walked down the mine, bumping our heads along the way on the low beams. Good idea, these hats. Phil, our talkative tour guide, was a volunteer who had worked in the mine for many years, clearing it out for tourists like us. He gave the impression that he knew each tunnel and rock personally, and had a story to tell about most of them. Most impressive. It was a tough life in the mines. Everything was done by hand and in some terrible conditions. No Work Safe then. This was the time when men were men. I think we walked about 1 km under the ground. This is nothing in relation to the mine complex which would stretch from Melbourne to Brisbane if all the tunnels were placed end to end. Coming out of the mine (up hill) was the easiest bit as it was a ride in skips to the top leaving the beautiful constant 16 degrees and arriving back in brightness and 30 plus degrees. All this for a group discounted price of $4.40 each. Great value.
The ride home was HOT!! We gassed up just outside Wonthaggi, turned off the main road and travelled back, much the same way that we had come, with quite a few monos thrown in for entertainment by Aaron, Mario and Scott. Somewhere along the way the Nimmos removed one bird from the Gippsland flock. Ben, Rhys, Ken and Louise turned off somewhere along the way. The rest of us ended the ride in Berwick with well earned drinks and icy poles. A distance of approx 278.29km. Stupid digital speedos!
Thanks, Ian, for leading a very enjoyable ride and Phil for the rear rider duties.